I took care of it.

I took care of it.
She didn't move during the ride home either. I carried her down the hall and up the stairs, while Danny alternately flapped behind me and hopped forward to open the doors. As I laid her on the bed, and a stain became visible from the blood that had transferred from my shirt to her dress, Danny gasped.
" Sir, does Miss Harper need a doctor?
I shook my head. "It's not her blood."
"Should I send Ana to help you?" he gestured vaguely between Amara and the bed.
The protective instinct came over me again-no one should see my partner like this but me-but I repressed it and nodded. "Perhaps it's for the best. When Emma arrives, I'll take care of some business before I go back to check on Le...Miss Harper."
Danny nodded. "Very well, Master." And he left the room; his quick footsteps could be heard even on the plush carpet.
In my room, I had a quick drink, jumped in the shower and put on a clean shirt and pants. Black suited me well. I smiled weakly at my own pathetic joke. Black suited me every day. It was all I had.
My cell phone rang just as I walked through the double doors and bent down to close them behind me.
I glanced at the call screen. Jensen . "Yes?"
"I took care of it." He used as few words as I did on the phone, and I didn't ask him what he'd done. The swamp was close. And alligators were always a convenient excuse for a mangled body or three.
"I need you to see Donatelo." I thought about it on the way home.
"Does that smell like three of his dead henchmen?" Jensen rarely challenged me, but I kept telling him the plan anyway.
The helicopter will pick you up at the airport. I think it's too risky to use the Neutral Zone helipad again.
He made a murmuring acknowledgment.
"But Donatelo needs to know our deal is off."
"Fuck, Arturo growled Jesen " . Then it would be too risky to try to get me on the chopper on his roof. And you want me to deliver this message? Are you sure it's not a suicide mission? Maybe I don't need a helicopter at the airport after all.
I nodded as I peered over the balustrade into the hallway below, clenching and unclenching my fingers around the phone reflexively. "You're there, I trust you, and most importantly, Donatelo knows I trust you. He'll know that if it comes out of your mouth, it eventually comes out of mine. And he wouldn't dare hurt you." I uttered the last words, believing them and hoping they were true at the same time.
Jensen sighed.

The deal was off. The truce is no more. The swamp is still mine. I can't trust him. My partner couldn't even walk down the street safely in Donatelo territory . My stomach cringed at the thought that he shouldn't even have been there. If he had stayed at the restaurant, as I told him, he would have taken her wherever he wanted.
My sudden, vehement thought surprised me. But it was true. He would have taken her anywhere, bought her any jewelry that caught his eye.
Jensen sighed again. "I think you should..."
"I don't care what you think. " I blurted out the words as my concern turned to irritation. Worry about Amara had become claws digging into my chest, and each breath made them even deeper.
A clock ticked the time on the wall behind me as I listened to Jensen's regular inhalations. Finally, he spoke again. "Maybe I'll wait a few days. Then make up your mind." He omitted the fact that that was the thought I had just told him I didn't want to hear, but my phone screen was still cracking worryingly under my tight grip.
"That's your suggestion for my next move, right? " My voice was soft, almost a purr, but Jensen's response was forceful.
"Yes, it is. Don't burn a bridge you might have to cross again. And how could Donatelo warn everyone so quickly? How were they to know about the truce?
I let out a harsh laugh. "Donatelo torched the bridge and the whole town the moment my colleague was attacked on his turf by vampires under his control. He's lucky New Orleans is still standing. He needs better behaved subjects." I uttered the last words in a booming voice, and they echoed through the cavernous two-story space of my house. Then I looked back at the open doors of the east wing and lowered my voice. "Just make sure he gets the message, Jensen . I was serious about protecting Amara when I talked to François before, and I'm serious now. No truce."
"All right. " Jensen's tone said he still disagreed, but he knew better than to argue further.
I'll send the helicopter to the airport. Call me when you get there. Although he could be stubborn and a bit reluctant at times, his safety was still one of my top priorities.